I agree with Sergi that although social media can provide leads, but info needs to be checked. Another point I’ve noticed is that people’s tweets from months or years ago are sometimes used to try and weaken the perception of their character in articles. Tweets are easier to use out of context to try and make someone seem better or worse than you want. It’s something we all need to be careful of when posting.

Amy Hall

I agree with Becs… it’s a good way to find or follow a good story, but a journalist must alway check the information. I think that social media are the present and the future… My opinion is that journalists who works with social media are the working towards taking over old generations.

Journalists are, by nature, crafty folk who are wonderfully adept at stalking — I mean, finding sources and relevant information for various and sundry stories. Well, the advent of social media has made the process of reporting all the more nuanced, and has served as a vital channel for everything from finding leads to contacting sources to sharing and furthering one’s brand.

Still, as the Internet continues to expand, it can be difficult to pick and choose which tools are right for journalists — it can be daunting to litter one’s desktop with Twitter applications, social networks, location-based tools and blogs.

Tools such as Face book and Twitter serve as excellent filters for the masses of information circulating on the web. Although many journalists swear by Twitter as a method of spotting and filtering out trends, Face book can also function as a vital reporting tool.

Journalists gather lot of information through these social networking sites. Much of the news would not have been possible even without these social sites.

In the traditional world the news organizations had to give out information, and people would consume it. But simply making information available is not enough for today’s public. Today’s audiences expect to be able to choose what they read, and most believe they should be able to contribute content and opinions, too. This shift is generally called the social media.

Basically social media use internet-and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings. It has not only benefited journalists but has also helped give individuals a way to speak up to the world.

More and more people prefer reading newspapers online due to the online version being global, free and around forever. If most of the consumers are on line, it is better to reach them online. Traditional media is slowly becoming history. Journalists are now making a good use of social media to engage their audience.

Before getting started with the topic I am doing research on (ethic and legal issues to bear in mind when using social media content in news coverage) I want to share with you all something I came across while surfing the Net.

Social Media currently play an important role. This is something that goes almost without saying. Nevertheless, the way they are used in democratic countries differs from that one in states ruled by authoritarian regimes, where social media are the voice of the people who protest, demonstrate or even take part in a revolution. Read the rest of this entry »